Just about everybody out there has wished, at one time in their lives, that they had one more shot at something. Whether it’s another chance at love, another opportunity to win that coveted race, or just one more bite of that perfect sandwich.

Well how about one more football game? In full pads?

There are plenty of grown men, from all walks of life, who have thought about that one before. Some of them are making it happen.

“Here’s my chance. Here it is. I never thought I would get this chance, and now I get to suit up again one more time,” said Sam Ferguson, a 54-year-old who will don the pads for Dakota when they take on Freeport Aquin this Saturday in an alumni football game. “I didn’t get a chance to finish the way I wanted to back in high school, so now maybe I can.

“On Saturday, it’ll be like old times. It’ll be game time again.”

Ferguson broke his leg in a motorcycle accident just before the homecoming game of his senior season. “Fast forward 38 years, and I’m suiting up again,” he said. He’ll join about 35 other former players and current community members for the 60-minute game.

And, it’ll be against their rivals from Freeport Aquin.

On the Bulldogs’ side, there seems to be little fear of injury or losing, even though they are the oldest team to register for an Illinois game. It, too, comprises former players who are looking for one more shot. That roster includes 66-year-old Tim Smith – “No matter how old you are, you still have your pride, and you still love football” – and 65-year-old Patrick Best.

Even the former mayor saw this as a chance he couldn’t pass up.

“I haven’t played since the fall of 1980,” said George Gaulrapp, the Freeport mayor from 2005 to the last election. “But I figured ‘Why not, it sure sounds like fun.’

“And it means a little something extra for me, too. My buddy and former teammate, Bill Stauffer, died of cancer two years ago, and I’m going to wear his number for the game. He would have wanted to be out here for this, and this will help me remember him in a fun way.”

Because of Alumni Football USA, there are a lot of people like Ferguson and Gaulrapp who are getting another shot on the gridiron. The organization started 25 years ago by founder and still owner and operator Bob Cazet, but it has caught on a lot more of late.

Page 2 of 3 - Word of mouth has transformed into Facebook alerts and e-mail connections.

“Illinois is just the perfect place for something like this. Illinois loves its football,” said Chuck Hulke, Alumni Football USA team coordinator, and the Illinois branch operator. “It’s been like selling candy to a kid. It’s that one sport that when you’re done, you’re done. And everybody sits around talking about how they wish they could play football again.

“Well, here’s their chance.”

And guys ranging in age from 19 to 65, are taking advantage.

Dakota will take on Aquin at Conley Field in Freeport at 1 p.m. Stockton will face off against Ashton-Franklin Center on Oct. 19 while Forreston will take on Eastland-Pearl City on Oct. 20.

The Rockford Public Schools are jumping on board as well, with two doubleheaders next year – tentatively planned for East-Guilford and Boylan-Belvidere on Aug. 9, and Jefferson-Auburn and Byron-Stillman Valley on Aug. 10.

Some area teams have already gotten the feeling of playing again; and they want more. A group of Rochelle alums took on a team from Dixon earlier this summer, and they have already scheduled another matchup next summer, although the Hubs will be looking for a different result.

“I guess, in the beginning, I was just kind of intrigued. But then everybody was into it, and we had fun, even though we got waxed,” said Rochelle’s Ken Dougherty, who was part of the 48-0 Dixon trouncing, and one of those who hopes to be part of the turnaround next year. “It felt like old times – except the final result. We all had a blast.

“We got that old team feeling again, and a lot of us are ready to do it again right now. We’ll make sure it ends up in a different way, though, that’s for sure.”

While the competitive fire still burns for many of these weekend warriors, it’s more about finding those moments that leave a lasting impression one more time. The feeling of suiting up in the lockerroom with your teammates; barreling out of the tunnel and onto the field; and, of course, laying the pads into someone wearing a jersey of your rivals colors.

Those are the kinds of things that bring men out of retirement for one last go.

“It’s been, well, educational,” the 65-year-old Best said. “I sure can’t move like I used to, but it’s still just as much fun trying.

“I’m sure I won’t play much, but just to get out there, and be a part of this, and feel like I’m a football player again, that’ll be worth it.

Page 3 of 3 - “I think everybody deserves another night on the football field.”